ASIAN MMA RENAISSANCE

Sep 19, 2012

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Regional promotions like Pacific X-treme Combat
are setting the stage for a resurgence of mixed martial arts in
Asia. Instead of focusing solely on Japan, as was the case with
past promotions like PrideFC and DREAMFC, today the most
forward-looking companies are developing the sport in the Pacific
Rim and China.

“If you look at the entire area, originally Japan was the only
Asian country that was into MMA and then it kind of died out,” said
legendary referee “Big” John McCarthy after officiating PXC 33 in
Manila, which took place on September 1st 2012. McCarthy was
referring to the serial demise of the two dominant Japanese
promotions of the last 15 years, Pride FC, which shut down in 2007,
and Fighting Entertainment Group, which produced DREAMFC and ceased
operations in February 2012. Despite the troubles of MMA in Japan,
McCarthy sees opportunities for MMA in other parts of Asia because
of the existing culture of martial arts and the increasing
popularity of the lighter weight classes. “Now all the other
countries in Asia are becoming involved and have so many good young
lighter weight fighters that its just a matter of time before you
see a lot of the top guys coming out of Asia again.”

McCarthy said he was surprised at how enthusiastic the fans in
Manila were in the days leading up to PXC 33. “They are nuts about
MMA, I’ve never been to a country where I was mobbed by more people
everywhere I went than the Philippines, cooks coming out of the
kitchen at the restaurants I'm eating at to meet me and things like
that. It was amazing. They’re a fighting culture.”

The Philippines have long had a record of excellence with Boxing
and the biggest boxing star in the world, six time World Champion,
Manny Pacquiao hails from the island nation and is even a member of
the Filipino congress.

PXC promoter EJ Calvo has high hopes for the roster of fighters his
promotion is helping to develop in the Philippines. PXC has prides
itself as an incubator for the next generation of talent and as the
place for fans to watch future superstars in the early stages of
their careers before they break out in the UFC. “Our Flyweight,
Bantamweight, Lightweight and Featherweight divisions are all full
of young talent from the Philippines and with more experience
against elite fighters from the region, we expect that the
Philippines will produce some of the world's toughest, as it has in
Boxing." One name that stood out from PXC 33 was undefeated
Filipino featherweight Mark Striegel. Striegel submitted his
opponent early in the first round and McCarthy predicted that fans
would see him in the UFC within the year.

Calvo notes his promotions record of developing talent, instead of
signing aging stars on the downside of their careers, a practice he
criticizes in some of PXC’s competitors in the region. PXC, he
says, is where to see young hungry fighters on their way up. "We've
released 2 of our top fighters to The UFC within the last three
months including John Tuck who is competing in the UFC’s huge show
in Macau on Nov 10th. We fully anticipate that others will be
getting similar opportunities soon. PXC focuses on match-ups
between the Asia-Pacific region's elite fighters, and our fans love
to see rising talent climbing the rankings! There's so much talent
in the Asia-Pacific that PXC will always have a stacked card with
future stars on the rise."

About PXC: Since is debut in 2004 Pacific X-treme Combat has
produced over 50 professional and amateur events and is one of the
longest running promotions in mixed martial arts. Based on the
island of Guam, PXC recently signed a major TV deal with TV5 for
the Philippines, airing free-to-air nationwide. The most recent
broadcast, PXC-33 in September, recorded almost 500,000 viewers in
the Philippines during live broadcast. PXC 34 will take place live
in Manila in November and is planned to be PXC’s biggest event to
date.